Students at Thomas Edison EnergySmart Charter School, Cortelyous Lane, Somerset, held a number of charitable fundraisers over the last few weeks. The school’s “Dress-Down Week,” in which a $10 donation was made to “dress down” for one day, raised $3,290, said school principal Oguz Yildiz.

Organizations within Franklin Township and in the greater Somerset County area offer opportunities for holiday donations. Most immediately, the First Baptist Church of Lincoln Gardens, 771 Somerset St., Somerset, will hold a food collection on Nov. 24.

More than $9 million worth of contracts related to the proposed school referendum and energy saving program were approved at the Nov. 21 Board of Education meeting. The board awarded a $6,958,910 contract to SSP Architectural Group, Bridgewater, for architectural design and administrative services for the ambitious referendum projects and the Energy Savings Improvement Program.

The owner of a Franklin “cash for gold” store was indicted on several charges related to last summer’s Operation “Somer Gold” sting by local, county and state law enforcement. David H. Rubin, 55, of Highland Park, owner of Wireless Source/Cash For Gold on Hamilton Street, was indicted on charges of 3rd Degree fencing, 3rd Degree receiving stolen property, two counts …

About three dozen of the district’s substitute teachers showed up at the Nov. 21 Board of Education meeting to once again ask that the pay hike they were promised last year be put into effect. The teachers have been showing up regularly since September, asking the board to reverse a June decision to cut their per day pay by as …

A 26-year-old Somerset man who police said tried to kill a township police officer during a struggle last summer has been indicted on several charges, including attempted murder. An indictment charging Archie L. Ashley with five counts of 1st Degree attempted murder, 1st Degree disarming a police officer, 2nd Degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, 3rd Degree …

Deep divisions among groups of members and a feeling of overall failure permeate the 2013 self-evaluations completed earlier this year by the Board of Education members. “We are so fractured we cannot function,” one board member commented. “Plus, we are forcing the administration to spend time and money on board related in fighting (sic). My biggest failure as a board …

Adoptee advocates around the country will turn their attention to securing original birth certificates during the 8tha annual National Adoption Day observances on Nov. 23. Advocates are asking supporters with face book accounts to change their profile pictures to a pink graphic with the words, “Got your birth certificate? Adoptees don’t.”

Ernest T. Nilsson, 94, died on November 16, 2013 surrounded by those he loved.   He was born in the Bushwick Section on Blecker Street in Brooklyn N.Y. on September 6, 1919 to his dear parents Ernst and Anna Zittsman Nilsson. Ernest was a Professional Engineer for Nilsson Engineering in Somerset; served in the U.S. Army during World War II as …

Kimberly Briganti of Raritan Borough told police she was driving down Easton Avenue when the car ahead of hers, driven by Emma Holbrook of North Plainfield, stopped suddenly. Briganti said she could not avoid hitting the rear of Holbrook’s car. The impact sent Holbrook’s car into one ahead of hers, driven by Ruth Betzer of Somerset. Betzer said a car …